Radioactive Water From Fukushima Is Leaking Into the Pacific

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Exposing the Big Game

Dahr Jamail | Radioactive Water From Fukushima Is Leaking Into the Pacific Wednesday, 27 January 2016 00:00
Written by
Dahr Jamail By Dahr Jamail, Truthout.org

The Ikata Nuclear Power Plant, which was idled after the 2011 disaster in Fukushima, in the Ehime prefecture of Japan, January 23, 2014. (Photo: Ko Sasaki / The New York Times)

Truthout will never hide stories like this behind a paywall or subscription fee. Help us continue publishing free and uncensored news by making a donation today!

“Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind,” Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Truthout shortly after a 9.0 earthquake in Japan caused a tsunami that destroyed the cooling system of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan.

While this statement might sound overdramatic, Gundersen may be right.

Several nuclear reactor meltdowns in the plant, which at the time forced the mandatory evacuations of thousands of people living within a 15-mile radius of the damaged power plant, persist, and experts like Gundersen continue to warn that this problem is not going to go away.

More: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34565-radioactive-water-from-fukushima-is-leaking-into-the-pacific

How Fish Communicate

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/science/how-fish-communicate-even-using-noise.html?_r=0

By C. CLAIBORNE RAY DEC. 13, 2015

It is well known that fish communicate by gesture and motion, as in the highly regimented synchronized swimming of schools of fish.

Some species use electrical pulses as signals, and some use bioluminescence, like that of the firefly.

Some kinds of fish also release chemicals that can be sensed by smell or taste. In 2011, a scientist in New Zealand suggested that what might be called fish vocalization has a role, at least in some ocean fish.

In the widely publicized work, done for his doctoral thesis at the University of Auckland, Shahriman Ghazali recorded reef fish in the wild and in captivity, and found two dominant vocalizations, the croak and the purr, in choruses that lasted up to three hours, as well as a previously undescribed popping sound.

The sounds of one species recorded in captivity — the bigeye, or Pempheris adspersa — carried 100 feet or more, and the researcher suggested it could be used to keep a group of fish together during nocturnal foraging. Another species, the bluefin gurnard, or Chelidonichthys kumu, was also very noisy, he found.

“Vocalization” is a bit of a misnomer, as the sounds these fish make are produced by contracting and vibrating the swim bladder, not by using the mouth. question@nytimes.com

We assumed fish didn’t care about each other. We were wrong.

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

Researchers have long thought fish were heartless and cold, incapable of the relationships mammals cultivate, but new research among fish in coral reefs suggests fish can work in long-term paired relationships.

By Lucy Schouten, Staff September 29, 2015

A diver snorkels in the Great Barrier Reef off Australia’s Queensland state. Rabbitfishes from a coral reef have just been found to exhibit reciprocal cooperation, meaning they are the first fish known to take care of each other.

Fish living in the vast network of coral reefs near Australia are already known to moviegoers for their devotion, thanks to the loving clownfish father-and-son pair in Pixar’s “Finding Nemo.”

But in reality, marine researchers have long thought fish were a bit cold and self-centered. A recent study published Friday indicates that their temperament is warming by a few degrees.

Clownfish like Marlin and Nemo do have a symbiotic relationship with anemones, according to PBS, but another inhabitant of the coral reef – the rabbitfish – shows the first-observed signs of what researchers call reciprocal cooperation. This means one fish helps another, and the effort, no matter how small, is somehow returned.

Members of this coral reef fish species feed in pairs, according to a study published at ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia. Rabbitfish couples have a symbiotic relationship, and one member of the pair helps by keeping watch while the other fish eats.

More: http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0929/We-assumed-fish-didn-t-care-about-each-other.-We-were-wrong

Celebrities Get Naked for Fish

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

Finally, these celebrities get naked for fish

By Amelia Urry on 24 Feb 2015 Grist.org

Do you love fish as Helena Bonham Carter does?

Helena Bonham Carter

That’s not Photoshop. That is HBC in the buff, cradling a bigeye tuna.

And she wants you to know how serious she is about this love:

Helena Bonham Carter

The photo is part of a British campaign called Fishlove, behold Dumbledore coyly peeking out from behind a pufferfish!

Fishlove is produced by Nicholas Röhl, co-owner of Japanese restaurant MOSHIMO, based in Brighton, UK

British-Indian movie star Ayesha Dharker loves moray eels as much as she loves that fat baby.

©Alan Gelati/Fishlove

For the rest of these sea stars, check out the galleries (and the campaign) here.

PETA to Predators, fans: Stop throwing catfish on ice

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2014/11/26/predators-peta-catfish/19557479/

PETA wants Predators fans to stop throwing catfish onto the ice after goals.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to the Predators on Wednesday and offered to ship 1,000 plastic fish in exchange for prohibiting the practice.

While the practice of throwing a catfish is not a routine after every goal at Predators at Bridgestone Arena, a catfish was thrown out after Ryan Ellis’ goal during the second period in Tuesday night’s 4-3 shootout win over Los Angeles.

The tradition goes back more than a decade as a Music City response to Detroit’s octopus.

Should the Predators ban fans throwing catfish on the ice after goals?

Yes
No

VoteView Results

&amp;lt;a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/8479972/”&amp;gt;Should the Predators ban fans throwing catfish on the ice after goals?&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Having trouble seeing the poll? Click here.

Below is a copy of the letter sent to Predators chairman Thomas Cigarran and general manager David Poile:

November 26, 2014

Thomas G. Cigarron

Chair and Governor

Nashville Predators

David Poile

President of Hockey Operations and General Manager

Nashville Predators

Dear Messrs Cigarron and Poile:

I’m writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters—including thousands across Tennessee, with many sports fans among them—in response to reports that a catfish was thrown onto the ice during your game yesterday, November 25, against the Los Angeles Kings, and that catfish have been thrown onto the ice at other games in the past. We encourage you to prohibit fans from throwing fish—dead or alive—onto the ice in the future and have a proposition that would help make this a win-win situation for both animals and Predators fans.

Whether you want to think about it or not, fish are sentient beings, capable of feeling fear and pain. It’s no more acceptable to harm them than it is to harm any other living beings. Please, won’t you prohibit fans from engaging in such insensitive acts?

We’d be happy to send you 1,000 plastic fish that you could distribute to guests at Bridgestone Arena. Fans could use them in a harmless, fun way to celebrate their team’s success without making light of cruelty to animals. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Colleen O’Brien
Senior Director of Communications
PETA

Fish Failing to Adapt to Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels in Ocean

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

By Oliver Milman
The Guardian, October 5, 2014
Straight to the Source

For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Environment and Climate Resource Center page.

Spiny damselfish Acanthochromis polyacanthus.
Photograph: Flickr/creative commons

Rising carbon dioxide levels in oceans adversely change the behavior of fish through generations, raising the possibility that marine species may never fully adapt to their changed environment, research has found.

The study, published in Nature Climate Change, found that elevated CO2 levels affected fish regardless of whether their parents had also experienced the same environment.

Spiny damselfish were kept in water with different CO2 levels for several months. One level was consistent with the world taking rapid action to cut carbon emissions, while the other was a “business as usual” scenario, in which the current trend in rising emissions would equate to a 3C warming of the oceans by the end of the century.

The offspring of the damselfish were then also kept in these differing conditions, with researchers finding that juveniles of fish from the high CO2 water were no better than their parents in adapting to the conditions.

This suggests that fish will take at least several generations to cope with the changed environment, with no guarantee they will ever do so, meaning several species could be at risk of collapsing due to climate change.

The research was conducted by the ARC center of excellence for coral reef studies, based at James Cook University in Queensland.

Previous studies by the center have found that rising CO2 levels in the oceans directly alters neuron transmitters in fish brains, modifying their behavior. Their sense of smell is hindered, as well as their wariness, meaning more are picked off by predators.

More than 90% of the excess CO2 in the atmosphere, primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is soaked up by the oceans.

When CO2 is dissolved in water it causes ocean acidification, which slightly lowers the pH of the water and changes its chemistry. Crustaceans can find it hard to form shells in highly acidic water, while corals are more prone to bleaching.

Professor Philip Munday, a co-author of the study, told Guardian Australia the research suggested fish would not be able to adapt to climate change in the short term.

>>> Read the Full Article

Warm North Pacific Waters Threaten Native Fish, Usher in Unusual Species

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

October 3, 2014

Unusually high water temperatures throughout the North Pacific Ocean have brought concerns from researchers about how it could affect native species of fish as well as sightings of uncommon species.

The three areas of the North Pacific with the most notable warming trend include the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea and an area off the coast of Southern California down to Baja California, Mexico, with temperatures as high as 5 degrees above average.

These sea surface temperature anomalies have remained this way for more than a year, one of the longest stretches on record, according to researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

This is a sea surface temperature anomaly map in the North Pacific Ocean. The darker the red, the farther above average the sea surface temperature, according to NOAA. (Photo/NOAA)

The warmer water has prompted questions about how it will impact the marine food web, said Laurie Weitkamp, a research fisheries biologist with NOAA’s Northwest Fishery Science Center in Newport, Oregon.

A big concern for native species of fish, such as salmon, is that the primary food items they eat may no longer be available, Weitkamp said.

Potentially adding further stress to the situation, warm water also increases the metabolic rate of the fish so they have to eat more in warmer water, but there may not be enough to eat because the conditions are not suitable for their food items, Weitkamp said.

Nate Mantua, leader of the landscape ecology team at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, attributes these conditions in the Gulf of Alaska to the same ridge of high pressure that’s believed to have contributed to California’s extreme drought. Storms and winds that commonly cool and stir the sea surface have been quelled by the ridge.

“If the warming persists for the whole summer and fall, some of the critters that do well in a colder, more productive ocean could suffer reduced growth, poor reproductive success and population declines,” Mantua said in a NOAA Fisheries article.

“This has happened to marine mammals, sea birds and Pacific salmon in the past. At the same time, species that do well in warmer conditions may experience increased growth, survival and abundance,” Mantua said.

Another effect likely brought about by the noticeably warmer waters is observations of different species of fish that are not known for frequenting this part of the ocean.

Earlier this past summer, a research vessel found a thresher shark in the Gulf of Alaska, which was the northernmost documented catch of the species, according to Michael Milstein, a spokesman for NOAA Fisheries.

“Thresher sharks are know for preferring warm waters,” Milstein said.

More: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/warm-north-pacific-waters-threaten-fish/34699318

Petition to cancel a show that glorifies killing sharks

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

NBC @NBCSN : Cancel #SharkHunters #sharks

Andrew Mills
Carmel, Indiana

Sign Andrew’s Petition

The NBC Sports show Shark Hunters glorifies and promotes the killing of sharks, amazing animals already under pressure from overfishing, finning and environmental pollution. And all three of the species hunted on Shark Hunters are listed as “Vulnerable” by The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

The show features three tournaments that give financial prizes for bringing in dead sharks from 3 species: mako, thresher and porbeagle. NBC should not be glamorizing the killing of vulnerable sharks under the pretense of “sport” or “sustainable fishing”.

Programs like this not only glamorize shark hunting and killing but also make the whole action “OK”. Sharks play an important role in our oceans and if we continue to hunt them, our ocean’ss health will continue to decline.

Change.org petitions have successfully convinced other channels, like National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, to cancel other violent hunting shows. I’m sure with enough signatures, we can get NBC to listen.

Please join me in asking NBC and it partners to cancel Shark Hunters!

Sign Andrew’s Petition

Shark Hunters: A Reprehensible Celebration of Torture

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201407/shark-hunters-reprehensible-celebration-torture

This NBCSN series shows horrific suffering and regrettable celebration of pain

Published on July 16, 2014 by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D. in Animal Emotions

For the past few days, while watching the Tour de France cycling race on NBCSN, there have also been advertisements for their series called Shark Hunters that premieres today, as if it’s a sport. Their tagline is “The sharks are on the hook and there’s money on the line.”

A description of the program is: “The documentary-reality series features three East Coast shark tournaments – each more than a quarter century old – and highlights five captains battling against each other, the sharks, rough conditions and the Atlantic. Anglers from all over the world venture to the Northeast Atlantic to compete. Approximately 630 boats will have a collective six days to catch the biggest shark.”

If you can bear watching the horrific torture to which sharks are subjected and humans joyously celebrating their interminable pain then this series is for you. In an earlier essay called “Sharks and Humans: A Much Needed Corrective” I noted that sharks are highly sentient beings who suffer just like our companion animals and there are people who have been attacked by sharks and are now advocates for these most amazing animals. For more on how to interact safely with sharks read about Dr. Erich Ritter’s Shark School.

You can read another review of this reprehensible show by Rick Juzwiak here and you can protest Shark Hunters here. This sort of violence should not be tolerated. An analysis of this series would be an anthrozoologist’s dream and nightmare.

Marc Bekoff’s latest books are Jasper’s story: Saving moon bears (with Jill Robinson; see also), Ignoring nature no more: The case for compassionate conservation (see also), and Why dogs hump and bees get depressed (see also). Rewilding our hearts: Building pathways of compassion and coexistence will be published fall 2014. (marcbekoff.com; @MarcBekoff)

Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Plastic in Our Oceans

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

Another reason to bring your own bag to grocery store:

…estimates show that in the next 20 years there could be a pound of plastic for every two pounds of fish in the sea...

From Ocean Conservancy

Last week, I spoke to a packed room at the U.S. State Department’s “Our Ocean” conference. This landmark event, hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry, brought together international government leaders, expert scientists, and global activists like Leonardo DiCaprio to discuss the future of our ocean.

My message was simple: The avalanche of plastic reaching our ocean is as destructive as it is unnecessary. It can be stopped.

Plastics can kill animals like sea turtles, seals, and whales [not to mention, thousands of sea birds]. Once in the ocean, much of the plastic breaks into bite sized pieces animals are eating those pieces, along with the toxic pollutants that plastic adsorbs.

If we do not respond, estimates show that in the next 20 years there could be a pound of plastic for every two pounds of fish in the sea.

In rapidly growing countries, plastic consumption is outpacing waste management. Travel to places like the Philippines, and you’ll see houses built up right to the water’s edge. With no alternative in place, inevitably waste ends up in rivers and streams, and water becomes invisible below a sea of trash.

I believe we have a solution to stop the avalanche but not without your help, and we have to act fast.

We must stop trash at its source — before it enters the ocean. To do that, we need to work with companies and governments in industrializing countries to build critical waste management systems. If we do, we can keep trash out of the ocean and provide billions of people the sanitation they deserve.

At Ocean Conservancy, we are launching a major campaign to work with the most innovative international companies and make this happen.

Exposing the Big Game

Forget Hunters' Feeble Rationalizations and Trust Your Gut Feelings: Making Sport of Killing Is Not Healthy Human Behavior

Tag Archives: fish